Three-dimensional (3D) integration of two or more semiconductor structures can produce a number of benefits in microelectronic applications. For example, 3D integration of microelectronic components can result in improved electrical performance and power consumption while reducing the area of the device footprint. See, for example, P. Garrou, et al., “The Handbook of 3D Integration,” Wiley-VCH (2008). The 3D integration of semiconductor structures may take place by the attachment of a semiconductor die to one or more additional semiconductor dice (i.e., die-to-die (D2D)), a semiconductor die to one or more semiconductor wafers (i.e., die-to-wafer (D2W)), as well as a semiconductor wafer to one or more additional semiconductor wafers (i.e., wafer-to-wafer (W2W)), or a combination thereof.
The process known in the art as the SMARTCUT® process is used in monolithic 3D integration processes. The SMARTCUT® process is described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. RE39,484 to Bruel (issued Feb. 6, 2007), U.S. Pat. No. 6,303,468 to Aspar et al. (issued Oct. 16, 2001), U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,258 to Aspar et al. (issued Jan. 1, 2002), U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,286 to Moriceau et al. (issued Jun. 29, 2004), U.S. Pat. No. 6,809,044 to Aspar et al. (issued Oct. 26, 2004), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,946,365 to Aspar et al. (Sep. 20, 2005), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entireties by this reference.
Briefly, the SMARTCUT® process involves implanting a plurality of ions (e.g., one or more of hydrogen, helium, or inert gas ions) into a donor structure along an ion implant plane. The implanted ions along the ion implant plane define a plane of weakness within the donor structure, along which the donor structure subsequently may be cleaved or otherwise fractured. As known in the art, the depth at which the ions are implanted into the donor structure is at least partially a function of the energy with which the ions are implanted into the donor structure. Generally, ions implanted with less energy will be implanted at relatively shallower depths, while ions implanted with higher energy will be implanted at relatively deeper depths.
The donor structure is bonded to another recipient structure, after which the donor structure is cleaved or otherwise fractured along the ion implant plane. For example, the bonded donor and recipient structures may be heated to cause the donor structure to cleave or otherwise fracture along the ion implant plane. Optionally, mechanical forces may be applied to the donor structure to assist in the cleaving of the donor structure along the ion implant plane. After the donor structure has been cleaved or otherwise fractured along the ion implant plane, a portion of the donor structure remains bonded to the recipient structure. A remainder of the donor structure may be reused in further SMARTCUT® processes to transfer additional portions of the donor structure to recipient structures.
After the fracturing process, the fractured surfaces of the donor structure may include ion impurities and imperfections in the crystal lattice of the donor structure, which, in some applications, may comprise a single crystal of semiconductor material. The portion of the donor structure that is transferred to the recipient structure may be treated in an effort to reduce impurity levels and improve the quality of the crystal lattice (i.e., reduce the number of defects in the crystal lattice proximate the fractured surface) in the transferred portion of the donor structure. Such treatments often involve thermal annealing at elevated temperatures of, for example, about 1,000° C.